DVD Collectors Online

A Great Day in Harlem, a review by Antares

A Great Day in Harlem (1994) 92/100 - I learned more about jazz history in just one hour of this documentary, than in all 19 hours of Ken Burns' bloated and pontificating film on the same subject. The director, Jean Bach, who just passed away the other day at the ripe old age of 94, was a jazz fanatic and celebrated historian of this truly American art form. This was her first film, which documents one of the most famous photographs in history, the gathering of 57 of Jazz music's most famous performers for a group photo on the streets of Harlem in 1958. Thelonius Monk, Lester Young, Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams and Dizzy Gillespie are but a few of the genre's heavyweights who took part in the photo shoot. But it's the attention paid to the lesser known musicians in the photo, that makes this documentary so interesting. Inter cut with segments from old television appearances, these jazz practitioners of long ago, show why they were considered the heart and soul of the African American community from the thirties to the latter fifties. I had never heard of some of these performers, but Bach seems to have found old kinescopes of celebrated performances, which just blew me away with these artist's technical expertise. If you're interested in jazz music, then I recommend you seek this short documentary out. It only lasts a little under an hour, but you'll be rewarded with a plethora of background on the New York Jazz scene over sixty years ago.

What the color coding means...

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on May 30th, 2013)

Insidious: The Last Key, a review by addicted2dvd

Insidious: The Last Key (2018/United States) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Adam Robitel Writing: Leigh Whannell (Writer), Leigh Whannell (Original Characters By) Length: 103 min. Video: Widescreen 2.39:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Lin Shaye (1944) as Elise Rainier
Leigh Whannell as Specs
Angus Sampson as Tucker
Kirk Acevedo as Ted Garza
Caitlin Gerard as Imogen Rainier

Plot:
The creative minds behind the hit Insidious franchise bring you the most horrifying chapter of the series, Insidious: The Last Key. In this gripping Blumhouse film, Lin Shaye reprises her role as parapsychologist Dr. Elise Rainier, who returns to her family home to face the unrelenting demons that have plagued her since childhood. Accompanied by her two investigative partners, Specs and Tucker, Elise must delve deeper in the Further to unlock the mystery and destroy her greatest fear.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Digital Copy

Seems I watched this one once before and didn't get much out of it. Guess that is what I get for watching it before the earlier films. I loved it this time I watched it! Knowing all about the psychic and her team before going back to her childhood home really helped. Who would have thought! LOL Now I am excited to get my hands on and watch Insidious: The Red Door.



(From Horror/Halloween Marathon 2023 on October 5th, 2023)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Season 6.17 Wrongs Darker than Death or Night
Writer: Ira Steven Behr (Writer), Hans Beimler (Writer)
Director: Jonathan West
Cast

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on March 2nd, 2013)